What is happening in Iran is sending shockwaves throughout the world, particularly here in Israel, as the regime has threatened to strike against Israel and all US military bases in the region should the US strike the regime.
Yet amid the justified focus on the regime's brutality, far too little attention has been paid to what comes next and to who is attempting to position themselves to inherit Iran's future. There has been even less coverage of what Iran would look like should the regime fall. Many people, including Iranian protesters, are calling on Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Iranian opposition figure and son of Iran's last shah, to take a leadership role, but he is not the only one attempting to shape Iran's future.
The Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), also known as the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, is one of those actors. The MEK began as a Marxist-Islamist political organization that played a key role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the monarchy and sent the Shah into exile. They were quickly rejected by Ayatollah Khomeini's new Islamic Republic and responded with bombings in Tehran that killed several US servicemen. MEK leaders fled and remained in exile. The MEK was listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997 and was delisted in 2012 by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
On January 11, during a pro-Shah rally in Los Angeles, a U-Haul truck drove into the crowd, injuring several protesters. The truck was emblazoned with MEK slogans ("NO SHAH. NO REGIME. USA: DON'T REPEAT 1953. NO MULLAH"), aligning with the MEK's historical modus operandi.
On the surface, the MEK's opposition to the regime may appear principled, but this is misleading, and non-Iranian observers should not be deceived. The MEK is a leftist group that historically aligned with Muslim extremists to topple the government of the day. Their past shows consistent antipathy toward democracy, human rights, and the West, and should they ever rule Iran, the standard of living and humanitarian situation would likely continue to deteriorate. The group is also as virulently antisemitic as the mullahs they oppose.
The MEK has successfully rebranded itself in order to appeal to Western audiences, superficially framing its cause in the language of human rights. Their stated goal of a secular Iranian state is at odds with their prior cooperation with the Ayatollah, and claims of support for Iran's ethnic minorities conflict with their alliance with Saddam Hussein during the 1980s and the repression of Kurds and Shia Muslims in 1991. US State Department reports document acts of violence against civilians. Maryam Rajavi reportedly instructed fighters: "Take the Kurds under your tanks, and save your bullets for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards" (New York Times reporting and former member accounts).
More disturbingly, the MEK has spent decades investing in government and public relations within the Persian diaspora. Presenting themselves as a democratic alternative to the Ayatollah, they are frequently seen engaging with US and European politicians. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani's public support for the group has raised particular concern. The MEK has leveraged this soft power to be delisted as a terrorist organization in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan.
When the Islamic Republic falls, several actors will attempt to shape the country's future, and the MEK is among them. Being exiled, like the Shah, does not confer the same level of legitimacy or moral authority. On the contrary, the MEK is one of the original factions of the Islamic Revolution that helped plunge Iran into decades of repression. They represent the opportunistic and extreme path that ordinary Iranians are trying to reverse.
Iranians have been protesting in the streets for 16 days. As footage and information emerge, the situation is increasingly alarming. Reports from Iranians with Starlink access indicate that security forces are using live ammunition against protesters, forcing families of those killed to pay exorbitant fees, and coercing them to sign false confessions claiming that their loved ones were killed by other protesters. The regime is reframing the entire uprising as "foreign intervention."
Meanwhile, Iranian opposition outlet Iran International reports that an internal review of sources close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the presidency, the IRGC, medical staff, and eyewitnesses indicates at least 12,000 people have been killed during the protests, making this the deadliest episode in Iran's modern history.
Iranians deserve a future defined by peace, democracy, and genuine self-determination, not a recycling of violent ideologies under a different banner. The Iranian people are risking their lives not to replace one form of extremism with another, but to reclaim their country from repression, corruption, and terror. Any transition that empowers actors with histories of violence, extremism, antisemitism, and authoritarian control will only perpetuate the suffering Iranians are fighting to end.
Iran's future must belong to its people, not to the mullahs, not to foreign proxies, and not to those who helped plunge the country into darkness in the first place.
